Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

Despite some of the early reviews that announced Terre D'Hermes as the "death of a perfume house" and "lemon dishwater", I think in the few years since its release, it has held its own nicely (I wrote a very long, tangential review of it in the directory). It's one of those scents that is very conceptual and simple-- no musks at all, minimal composition, all the notes can be easily smelled, very unusual aspects of minerals and flint.

I came to find that Terre D'Hermes was also a scent that suited me personally. I got a lot of compliments on it from people at work and from girls that I've dated. This scent is rugged, deep, outdoorsy and most importantly doesn't smell like it's trying too hard. It's unusually hairy-chested for a fresh scent.

The truth is-for me personally- I like my sillage to remain close to me. I like my fragrance to accomplish what I call "the brush"-- which is where somebody only smells my cologne when they have to brush past me-- and in that moment, and only for that second or two, they get the full effect. Terre D'Hermes EDT is perfect-- it smells great, has great longevity and I find that it has good sillage on me--not too strong, but just right. My bottle was getting down to the last 10-15% and I realized that I may actually finish a bottle of something in my lifetime, which is kind of impressive considering how big my drobe is and how conservatively I apply. So I was going to have to get more Terre D'Hermes anyway.

I heard that Terre D'Hermes was released in a Parfum version. I initially misunderstood EDPs to be even more boisterous in the sillage department and I thought they weren't for me. Then I discovered Guerlain's L'Instant De Guerlain Pour Homme Extreme Eau de Parfum-- when I wore it I found it was actually deeper and stronger--yet gave off less unwanted sillage to the far corners of the room. It stayed closer, but kept more of an intensity within a close range.

So enter the Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume... well, it's not a huge departure from the EDT in terms of smell--I do get the new minty shiso note right off the bat (it does bolster the strangely addictive orange juice and toothpaste combo--it almost comes off a bit like tomato leaf) , and I detect a bit more of a woody-amber base (something like karanal, perhaps). The tagline is something about a "new density" and I agree-- it seems more tightly packed than the breezy EDT. The Parfum seems to have less pepper but more geranium--comparing them side by side, the EDT smells SO much more peppery.

I wore it to the dentist today and I was thrilled at the way it stayed close to my skin. This is exactly how I like my scents to wear. I already felt like Terre D'Hermes was an extension of my personality--now the Pure Perfume version gives it the right kind of energy as well. I can still see myself wearing the EDT at times, but I think the Pure Perfume is going to replace it in the rotation. I also think the close wearing, yet smoldering intensity of the Perfume is going to be better for wearing in romantic situations.

I haven't had a lot of time yet to fully experience Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume, but right now it seems like a hit.

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

Yes, I agree that the EDT is more peppery. I also find it more assertive than the EDP. I find the parfum version is more "under the radar" with less sillage than the EDT - but with a more commanding presence once you get a whiff. The EDT is like like a warm fleece while the EDP is smooth as silk. Both are good.

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

I don't remember that shiso top note, that you mentioned - next time I smell the parfum I will pay more attention to it.

I agree with you, that the Parfum seems more 'romantically inclined', if you will. Personally, I would love smelling this on a guy - I think it'd smell sexy as hell.

I was wearing it all day and I think that there is a slight green quality (smells like cis-3-hexenol, but it could be the shiso). I tested the EDT on the other arm and I did notice the EDT seemed to expose the iso E super after a while the Perfume did not--it seems built on a different kind of ambery wood base, to my nose.

It's weird stepping back from an EDP/Parfum to an EDT-- I remember that I always thought L'Instant de Guerlain PH EDT was rich and satisfying--never had any issues--until I got a bottle of the EDP and then when I went back to the EDT I found it almost flimsy and spineless. I don't know if I'll feel this way about Terre D'Hermes yet.

One thing though, I don't know if I like the slightly humid green note of the Perfume all that much. One of the things that I always remarked on about TdH was that it smelled very black and white, with all the greys in between-- like an Ansel Adams nature photo-- somehow more expressive without color. The Perfume seems to get away from that purity a little.

But yep, I do think there's something about the way this Perfume sits on the skin that would make it good for a date or for a romp. The thing about TdH is that it doesn't contain musk-- instead it integrates with and adds to the wearer's own chemistry, which gives it a kind of authentic, personal quality. It's kind of like the word "terre" relates to "terrain" in wine terms-- you may be wearing a store-bought cologne but it works with your skin's own "terroir" so to speak. It gives more of a "living" quality.

I also noticed that both the EDT and Perfume list Oakmoss, but the Perfume does not list tree moss, which is in the EDT. The moss doesn't smell especially prominent to my nose--perhaps the EDT is more mossy? I think it's very easy to sniff the EDT and pick out every note that's listed in the pyramid-- not so much with the Perfume--It's much more condensed and compressed.

Wonder if they'd then go the other way and create a Terre D'Hermes Cologne...

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

Originally Posted by Indie_Guy

...It's weird stepping back from an EDP/Parfum to an EDT-- I remember that I always thought L'Instant de Guerlain PH EDT was rich and satisfying--never had any issues--until I got a bottle of the EDP and then when I went back to the EDT I found it almost flimsy and spineless. I don't know if I'll feel this way about Terre D'Hermes yet...

...Wonder if they'd then go the other way and create a Terre D'Hermes Cologne...

Well, I've never felt that an EdP (or perfume) has overshadowed an EdT - rather I think it makes me enjoy the EdT in a rather different way. But there are certain Guerlain feminines, that the parfum is vastly superior to the EdT (Vol de Nuit, for instance), to the point that I never bought the EdT - I just went straight to the parfum.

And yes, I think Hermes releasing a Terre de Hermes Cologne, sounds like a good idea and more than likely possible.

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

There seems to be a trend toward men's scents (usu. in the for of the EDT) as eau de parfum and pure parfum extrait.

We have Habit Rouge EDP and Tom Ford Vetiver EDP. What is the marketing strategy on this?

The Terre D'Hermes is a lot cheaper than a women's parfum of similar size.

"...put on clothes that are well-scented with incense. Even if you’re somewhere where no one special will see you, you still feel a heady sense of pleasure inside." Things that make your heart beat fast (translated by Meredith McKinney), Sei Shonagon. The Pillow Book.

"The sunset is deeper and longer. The scent of the jasmine is stronger." Miracles. Pet Shop Boys

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

@Indie_Guy: How many sprays of the EDT and the Pure Perfume do you apply?
I'm just wondering how many sprays of this stuff you see as conservatively applying.
I mostly do 1 for office (university), and 3 - 4 for going out.

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

Originally Posted by JBL

@Indie_Guy: How many sprays of the EDT and the Pure Perfume do you apply?
I'm just wondering how many sprays of this stuff you see as conservatively applying.
I mostly do 1 for office (university), and 3 - 4 for going out.

I usually go pretty conservative. The reason being that I often apply scents not long after a shower, and my warm skin tends to create a lot of sillage.

Some days when I decide to put my shower off until later in the day, I can get away with more sprays.

With Terre D'Hermes EDP, I normally go 1 or 2 sprays under my shirt and it lasts forever. I typically use the same application on the EDT as well.

My typical application of anything is 1-3 sprays under the shirt, and then I keep a tiny decant of my SOTD in my pocket if I want to refresh at some point during the day. If I want to apply to my neck or wrists, I dab from the decant-- I never spray directly to my neck. This way I never have to front-load my SOTD in the morning.

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

I usually go pretty conservative. The reason being that I often apply scents not long after a shower, and my warm skin tends to create a lot of sillage.

Some days when I decide to put my shower off until later in the day, I can get away with more sprays.

With Terre D'Hermes EDP, I normally go 1 or 2 sprays under my shirt and it lasts forever. I typically use the same application on the EDT as well.

My typical application of anything is 1-3 sprays under the shirt, and then I keep a tiny decant of my SOTD in my pocket if I want to refresh at some point during the day. If I want to apply to my neck or wrists, I dab from the decant-- I never spray directly to my neck. This way I never have to front-load my SOTD in the morning.

With the Habit Rouge, the EDP and the EDT do smell different, so one can layer if one chooses. The EDP has the nice addition of oud.

"...put on clothes that are well-scented with incense. Even if you’re somewhere where no one special will see you, you still feel a heady sense of pleasure inside." Things that make your heart beat fast (translated by Meredith McKinney), Sei Shonagon. The Pillow Book.

"The sunset is deeper and longer. The scent of the jasmine is stronger." Miracles. Pet Shop Boys

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

Thanks for the well put comparison. I enjoy both the EDT & Parfum and with time have come to see them as a handy pair to own.

The EDT works for me as more of a pick me up, it has a bit more snap, crackle and pop and that can be helpful facing full on days, particularly in the heat we get here for quite a few months of the year. The Parfum has the qality of being a little more subtle, but more robust, if you can reconcile that. It just quietly stays present without jumping out and saying 'look at me'. I, too, appreciate the drydown and prefer it to the EDT, especially if I'm having a long but quiet day - not getting out of the studio or seeing people.

This is certainly not an either/or IMO - and when you look at the huge number of scents marketed to women that come in EDT/EDP & Parfum, that's hardly surprising. With the fear of the word 'perfume' you see from a lot of guys I actually think Hermes were quite ballsy telling it like it is rather than using 'extrait' or a similar term. There is one other I have in EDT & Profumo, which is Villoresi's UOMO. This is a favourite and works much the same way - the Profumo is quieter but steadier, if you will, and really enjoyable. I suspect UOMO might be in the sights with reformulations - I read Villoresi was complying with 'the guidelines' altho I don't have concrete info on which specific scents, just a hunch.

The shower gel is not bad BTW if you haven't tried it - sort of a blast of grapefruit - great for summer.

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

"Frank", by Frank Los Angeles, "Aria di Mare", by Il Profumo, "Kyoto", by Comme des Garcons..
Each of these beautiful niche/cult scents have one thing in common, and that is, they are all, well, sex magnets.
However, all of these must step aside and give way, to Terre d'Hermes.
Like a pheromone- soaked boxing glove rubbed with delicate nuances of citrus, vetiver, minerals, and woods, no one will be left standing after experiencing the ephemeral magic this scent exudes.
2 full bottles gone in 11 months, and no one I know, or, for that matter,who stops me on the street every day to ask what I am wearing- can get enough of it.
Bravo, Hermes.

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

Not to rain on your parade, but I found the perfume version lacking in development & sillage and quickly sold it off. It's as if they threw a damp towel over the EdT and took away its brightness.

"I exist for myself, and for those to whom my unquenchable thirst for freedom gives everything, but also for everyone, since insofar as I am able to love - I love everyone. Of noble hearts, I am the noblest - and the most generous of those that yearn to give love in return. - I am a human being, I love death and I love life."

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

Well, Zerby kind of exhumed this thread from April, but nice timing -- Terre D'Hermes Parfum just happened to be my scent of the day today and it went over well. One of my female coworkers came up to me, right when I got to work and pressed herself into me, inhaling my chest. A male coworker asked me what cologne I was wearing. They liked it.

Again, it's different from the EDT in some ways, but I like it a lot. Again, the parfum has a different balance of notes, with maybe more emphasis on a somewhat synthetic (but not in a bad way) fixative woody amber base (where the EDT relies more on vetiver in the base). Different kind of density.

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

I just ordered the 3.3oz bottle 3 days ago. I Did not like the scent at all. Now it wasn't the worst I've ever smelled, but after reading review after review and seeing that people love it and talking about how long it lasts, I made a blind purchase, big mistake. Unless I got a bad batch this thing smells like oranges and rubbing alcohol and did not last but an hour. I am a very satisfied customer with fragrancenet.com. Just an hour ago I had to make my first return after buying at least 60 bottles from them. I returned Terre D'Hermes Just an hour ago and didn't feel bad doing it. I thought this scent was not for me. _For $80 dollars a bottle I should of got something better. This fragrance only lasted 2 hours tops, very disappointed.

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

I love them both and have them both. I bought the edt first, bought it after testing it one time. Then I smelled the pure parfum and bout a large bottle of that. There are differences in the two and I wear the set for work and daily wear. I get more of a cedar/wood drydown with the edt and I love that. If I want to smell richer I wear the pure parfum which I agree seems to have higher quality ingredients and is the better scent. When I can't decide what to wear I go to Terre d'Hermes, so I guess that makes it my signature scent.

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

Well , Ithought I owned the edt for over a year and just realized that it's probably
a fake (even though the scent smells EXACTLY like the real thing), so I stopped into Bloomingsales to compare and I took a good deal of time with the pure Parfum and edt and I must say, I think I like the Parfum better. The spray on my wrist was still recognizable 6 hrs after application while the edt had vanished after 3 hrs.

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

Originally Posted by Erok32

Well , Ithought I owned the edt for over a year and just realized that it's probably
a fake (even though the scent smells EXACTLY like the real thing), so I stopped into Bloomingsales to compare and I took a good deal of time with the pure Parfum and edt and I must say, I think I like the Parfum better. The spray on my wrist was still recognizable 6 hrs after application while the edt had vanished after 3 hrs.

It's the same for me. I really do enjoy the EDT as well, but having to choose between the two, (I can only afford 1 right now), I ended up going with the EDP. As so many have pointed out previously, it's smoother, richer and for me at least, it actually does project better and has MUCH better longevity. They truly are quite similar in many ways, but the EDP softens all the edges (though I do occasionally still like to get out my sample of the EDT for the "rougher" edges, haha) and is better blended IMO. I truly feel like I'm experiencing the essence of the entire orange (peel & rind included), along with a smoother flint note, which I find fantastic. I'd say 8 times out of 10 I'd grab the EDP over the EDT, only choosing the EDT for the occasional change and in a bit warmer weather. I know it's a hit or miss frag for many people, but I thoroughly enjoy it and it's quickly become one of my top 5!

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

I own the "whole pack" of Terre d Hermes. EDT, EDP, shower-gel, deo-stick, soap-bar, and after shave balm.
-The EDP version is more dense, dirty and pointed, but unfortunately on my skin the sillage is almost non-existing. Pity, because it`s a great scent. Therefore I prefer to use the EDT version. It has better sillage and stayingpower on my skin, and when I use the after shave balm as a base, It works very well!

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

My dad got a bottle of this to his last trip to France and I "borrowed" it just for fun, but never really wore it until I went on a date, we where at the movies thus we were close enough that I heard her take a big whiff and she asked me "Damn, What are you wearing?" I just replied "Hermes" now every time we go out, she begs me to wear it. Since then I've being meaning to get a new 100ml bottle so it can become my signature scent, definitely Terre D'Hermes is an ostentous attention getter, you walk in to a room and even though people do not "see you" they will definitely "smell you".

Re: Terre D'Hermes Pure Perfume Review

Great story (and thread bump). Just wanted to let you know that Pure Perfume comes only in 2.5oz size (75ml), but now visiting Hermes web site I see they added a monstrous 6.7oz (200ml) bottle as well. Nothing in between, though. They do have the EdT in 100ml size, though.

Personally I love this fragrance so much that I have the EdT, Pure Perfume, the new flanker Eau Très Fraîche (HIGHLY recommended!!), shaving cream, after-shave balm, after-shave lotion, shampoo, soap, and deodorant. It's one of the best (semi-current) releases out there, and no doubt to be destined to the all-time fragrance hall of fame.